Q&A with Robert Bailey

  

 

Robert Bailey is the author of the new novel The Mediator. His other books include The Boomerang. Also an attorney, he lives in Huntsville, Alabama.

 

Q: What inspired you to write The Mediator, and how did you create your character Max Ringo?

 

A: I have been a registered mediator since 2019. Mediation is a legal vehicle that hasn’t been explored much in contemporary fiction. In civil litigation and divorce matters, cases are being resolved in mediation much more often than trial, and it is not a stretch to say that the mediation is replacing the trial as the biggest event in a case.

 

While “method writing” (ha!) wasn’t really something I had planned, the story was aided by also having to do the work of a mediator while crafting Max’s journey.

 

For the creation of Max, I always saw her, first and foremost, as a mom. When her son is kidnapped by one of the parties to the mediation, Max must settle the case on that party’s terms, or her son will be killed.

 

Q: The novel is set in Huntsville, Alabama--how important is setting to you in your writing?  

 

A: I like the setting to almost feel like a character in the story, and Huntsville is tailor-made for this treatment.  

 

With the missile defense and government contracting industry that has sprouted up around Redstone Arsenal, the city’s emergence as the largest (by population) city in Alabama and the rural feel of the small towns and communities in Madison County and north Alabama, the area is solid gold for a dynamic setting that will hopefully come alive for readers.

Q: This is your first female lead character--what was it like to write about Max?

 

A: From my first few minutes with Max, in her dad’s old Toyota Tundra moving into the Huntsville City Limits on her way to a mediation that she hopes will be her big break, I just loved the character.

 

Max is attempting a comeback as a mediator after a horrific car accident derailed her personal and professional life. Her path to redemption is a gritty journey, where she risks everything to save her son’s life.

 

Q: What do you hope readers take away from the book?

 

A: I hope they are entertained by the story, and I’m also hopeful that they are inspired by Max’s resilience in the face of tremendous obstacles.

 

Q: This is the first in a series--can you tell us what's next?

 

A: In book two, Max will be forced to return to the courtroom to defend a client charged with murder. Again, Max will have a personal stake in the outcome, as everything she’s worked to regain in her career and life could be lost if her client is convicted.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: In addition to book two in the Max Ringo series, 2027 will also see me return to the inspirational fiction arena with a story about a teenage songwriter who teams up with a drifter to write and perform a song amid great personal tragedy. The book should come out close to the holidays. 

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Robert Bailey.